The Oracle
by Anne52
Summary: Team Avatar gains a new addition to their family. Can she help them defeat the firelord? And what happens when Zuko lets himself get too interested? R&R please! Even if you hate it! :D
1. A Late Night Visit

**Disclaimer: ** Sadly, I do not own Zuko or the rest of the characters for that matter, so kiss butt to the creators because we wouldn't have such a lovely show if it weren't for them.

**The Oracle**

by Anne52

**A Late-Night Visit**

Crunching sounds emanated from behind a wall of rocks. Aang poked his head out of the tent and looked around suspiciously, sneaking across the grass and peeking into the tent opposite his.

"Sokka. Psst." He hit Sokka with a blast of air. "Sokka," he whispered again.

"Hmm?"

Aang gestured toward Appa with his head.

The elder boy glared but followed anyway.

Aang scowled as he turned the corner.

Katara and Zuko, both clad in black, were loading Appa.

--

Aang crawled back into his tent, trying to ignore his concern for Katara, knowing--hoping she would do the right thing. He tried as many ways to fall asleep as he could (counting koala sheep, drinking warm water, and various other methods).

An elderly and familiar voice whispered his name as he was on the brink of sleep. "Aang."

"Yes Roku," he mumbled drowsily, curling into a ball and pulling the blanket further over his bald head.

"There is something of great importance I must tell y--"

"Will the Firelord take ove if I don't hear this now," he called from under the blanket, attempting to shut out the blue glow that always accompanied Roku.

"Well, no," he answered, eyes widening at Aang's unusually grouchy state.

"Can it wait, then?"

"No," Roku said curtly. Aang sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"There is one who is of all four nations. Seek her out; she will help you fulfill your destiny, but do not be mistaken, young avatar, it is not _your_ destiny to free her."

Aang's eyebrows pulled together. "Then whose is? And how do I find her?"

"There is a cave not far from your camp. From there you must follow the signs." Without a sound, Roku vanished.

--

As the sun stretched its arms over the horizon, a group of people sat around a fire, having a morning meal.

Aang silently approached his friends, all chatting quietly.

"Morning Twinkletoes," Toph greeted, her dark bangs blowing lightly in the wind.

Everyone avoided looking at Aang, silence overwhelming them.

Suki put down her bowl noisely. "Sokka told us about last night."

He slurped at his onion soup, thinking of ways to best bring up his visit from Roku. He stared at it as he said: "So I was thinking..maybe we could go for a walk today.."

He glanced up, reading the faces of his friends.

"Stop lying and get to the point, Twinkletoes," Toph said tersely.

"Sokka needs exercise. I mean, look at him! I'm just concerned for my friend here." Aang pointed in his direction.

Sokka sucked in his stomach self-consciously.

"What is it you _really_ want," she asked.

He sighed. "I spoke with Roku last night."

"What did he say?" Sokka waited patiently for an answer.

Aang swallowed. "Apparently, someone will join our group, and she's trapped in a cave not far from here. I'm supposed to find her," he explained, "but I can't free her. Someone else has to."

"Who," Suki asked.

"That's the problem," he answered. "I don't know."


	2. Aang Takes a Field Trip

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Zuko or the rest of the characters for that matter, so kiss butt to the creators because we wouldn't have such a lovely show if it weren't for them.**

**The Oracle**

by Anne52

**Aang Takes a Field-Trip**

Aang tiptoed quietly out of camp, glancing over his should once more at the moon, the recently put out fire, and the silent tents. _"Oof!"_

He collided with a small yet powerful force, only catching his balance by blowing onto the ground before it met his face.

He blinked innocently at the petite, ebony-haired girl. "Toph! I thought--"

"You thought I was asleep," she finished.

He grinned and chuckled nervously, eyes shifty.

She crossed her arms. "Where exactly did you intend on going?"

"I..um.." He twiddled his thumbs. "You're taking me with you," she said suddenly.

"Where?"

"To rescue this girl."

"Fine," he said. "It's about a mile from here."

"Get walkin' then, Twinkletoes," she said with cheer, giving him a friendly push.

They traveled over the river and through the woods, till they reached the cave Roku spoke of.

Aang picked a branch off the ground and lit it with ease.

Orange bounced off the rocky walls, making eerie shapes and focus.

"Great," he said, as the tunnel came to an end. "A dead end."

"No," Toph argued. "It's not."

As she spoke, her fool landed hard on the ground, her arms making a puppet of the the earth.

A spacious room lay before them.

Aang found and lit torches until the room was illuminated.

"Woah." In the middle of the room stood a statue, life-size. Her hair was in a bun; she wore a robe or kimono of some sort. Her skin was flawless, her hands in her lap, like she was patiently waiting for someone.  
"There's something here on the wall," Toph called.

"What does it say?" Aang appeared at her shoulder.

She turned her unseeing glare on him. "I can't read."

"Oh. That's right. Hehe." He moved closer to read it. "It's instructions. 'Under the full-moon--'"

"Under the full-moon what?"

"I don't know," he replied. "It ends there. Someone burned off the rest."

_Why would someone want to hide it,_ he thought. It had to be something of importance.

"It continues over here, I think," Toph said, moving her hands over the wall.

"You're right. More instructions. These are just painted." Aang looked over the pictures carefully, trying to decipher the meaning. Illustrated was a group of people, one standing out from the others. He wore fire nation colors and bore a scar across the left side of his face. "Toph. It's _Zuko._"

The fire illuminated his scar, a scar he had once worn with shame.

Zuko climbed down from the air bison.

Aang came speeding into camp, Toph not far behind him. "Zuko, Zuko, Zuko!"

He looked around, bewildered, like there might be another Zuko Aang was calling for so excitedly. "Yes," he asked cautiously.

Aang pulled at his arm. "You have to come see this!"

The larger boy stared at him in amazement. "What?"

He continued to pull at Zuko's arm--to no prevail.

_Wait a minute,_ he thought. _I'm the avatar._

The earth under Zuko became a block, and Aang moved him along effortlessly on it.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"What's going on," Katara asked as Sokka and Suki emerged from their tents.

"Just follow me," Aang called.

--

"You need to free her!" Aang pointed at the statue.

"How do you free a rock," Sokka asked dryly. He rubbed his eyes.

"Sokka's right," Zuko said. "This is ridiculous. I'm not the avatar."

Aang sighed, dragging Zuko along by the arm and poking the illustrations. "Look at this."

"Okay.."

"It's you, Zuko. It's you!"

"It does look a lot like you," Katara pointed out.

He crossed his arms. "Okay. So it looks like me--"

"It looks exactly like you," Aang interjected.

"Alright. It looks exactly like me. Big coincidence. Even if it is me, then how do you expect me to free her?"

"You need to kiss her," he concluded, pointing at the painting once again for reference.

"What?!" Zuko's face went red.

"Okay," Sokka said, "I'm goin' back to bed."

Suki grabbed him by the arm as he attempted to leave the cave.

Aang pulled Zuko in the direction of the statue. "It's just like the Wood-Frog Prince--except _you're_ the prince and she's a statue!"

He grinned and Zuko's eyes narrowed. "If this doesn't work, you had better not make fun of me about it later.."

He stalked up the stairs of the statue's pedastal, dropped to his knees and pressed his lips roughly to the stone.

He opened his eyes to a motionless figure.

"I told you," he said, facing the avatar.

"Well of course it didn't work," Toph commented, breaking the silence. "You're doing it all wrong."

"Are you harassing me?"

_Is that really how he kisses a girl,_ Sokka thought, then shrugged. _Whatever floats your boat, I guess._

"You should kiss her tenderly," Katara suggested.

"_It_ is a statue. Not a person!"

"Pretend it's Mai," Aang said.

Zuko contemplated for a while, then finally pressed his lips softly to the cold, hard lips of stone. They became warm underneath his, and he heard and felt them take in a sharp breath. He stumbled backward, landing on his back.

"Well that was different," a smooth soprano voice stated.


	3. Different

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zuko or any other characters, excepting the ones I create.**

**The Oracle**

by Anne52

**Different**

She had shockingly blue eyes, hair the color of a flame, and skin as pallid as the moon.

"Who are you," Zuko asked breathlessly from the floor.

"More importantly, _what_ are you?" Sokka's voice cracked as he moved protectively in front of Suki.

All but Zuko joined in the inquiry.

"Where are you from?"

The questions continued, and a smile slowly lit her face. She took a step forward and held out a hand to Zuko.

He flinched, but accepted her assistance.

"My name is Kira," she finally answered, looking up at him. She leaned around him to the others, and her smile lit up the room.

Aang stepped forward. "Hello Kira. I'm--"

"Avatar Aang," she finished. "I'm honored to finally meet you."

He stared bewilderedly. "How did you..?"

"I'd like to answer all your questions, but I haven't eaten in quite some time."

Her stomach growled in agreement.

--

They watched incredulously as Kira downed two bowls of rice.

Sokka's eyes widened as she started on her third. "The girl knows how to eat."

Suki elbowed him in the ribs.

"What was that for?!"

"You don't talk to girls about how much they eat," she hissed.

"How long were you stuck in there," Aang asked.

She looked up thoughtfully. "From what I remember, I was placed in the cave before avatar Roku died. A few people here and there asked for my wisdom. The last burned off the inscriptions, so I wouldn't get into the wrong hands. And next thing I know I wake up to this guy."

She gestured towards Zuko, who had been sitting quietly and blushed slightly at her comment.

"So you were there for..." Sokka did the math on his fingers. "Over a hundred years?!"

"Yes," she replied calmly.

"You're looking good for your age, then," Katara said.

"So is your avatar," Kira replied.

They watched silently as she finished the bowl.

"Where are you from," Katara asked curiously, noting the white and blue of Kira's robe.

"I was born in the Southern Water Tribe," she answered, "but I'm a fourth of each."

As Zuko studied her face, he could see her features truly were divided among the nations, her pallor, her blue eyes, but her hair didn't fit, which showed she was something different, something special.

The others continued to question her.

"..I'll have to explain it to you some other time--perhaps tomorrow," she finished Sokka's question about what she did.

She yawned delicately, her pink lips forming a perfect 'O', and Zuko smiled despite himself. They'd worn her out completely.

"I'm sorry," Katara said. "We've kept you up."

Kira smiled. "It's okay. I enjoyed it."

"You and Katara can share a tent tonight," Aang suggested, looking at Katara to make sure she was okay with it.

Katara nodded. "Sure. Here Kira, let me show you."

She followed Katara.

"Here's our tent," Katara gestured, "I'll let you borrow something of mine until we can get your clothes washed, and we bathe in the waterfall over there."

"Thank you," Kira said. "You're so kind. I can see why the avatar..." She faltered, glancing at the ground awkwardly. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

Katara watched her curiously. "What exactly is it you do? You knew Aang's name, and you seem to know about us, even though you were locked in that cave long before any of us were born."

Kira stepped into the tent as she handed her clothing.

"You said you were born in the Southern Water Tribe. Are you a bender? I've never met one whose abilities were like your own."

Kira laughed. "No. You're right. I'm a bit different."

"Are you limited to turning from stone," Katara asked playfully.

"No. That part I have no control over." She smiled. "There are two things. I see things that are going to happen--"

"So that's how you knew about Aang. I'm sorry, what's the other thing?"

"It would be much easier if I showed you." Kira put her small palm out. "May I?"

Katara laid her larger hand in the other girl's tentatively. "I don't feel anything."

Kira's eyes became glazed. "The fire nation killed your mother. She died trying to protect you...You tried to get revenge on the man who did it, but you--"

"Couldn't. I couldn't," Katara finished, moving her hand away. "How do you do that?"

Kira shrugged. "I'm not quite sure how it works. It just does."

They readied themselves for sleep, and the fire died outside. Both girls faced opposite sides of the tent.

"I was," Kira said suddenly.

"You were what," the other asked curiously.

"I was a water bender, but I didn't get to learn much because of these gifts. People thought this was more important."

--

He knew what joining the avatar entailed. He knew strange things would happen. Kissing a statue was strange enough. It coming to life was a completely different story. He wasn't insane. He couldn't be. Just a few yards from where he was, the strange being herself was sleeping, so he hadn't dreamed it..unless he was still asleep.

Zuko speculated these things over and over, trying to sleep or wake up from this dream, but the one thing he couldn't answer was why it had to be him.

**A/N: ** Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! Let me know what you think. I know it's on the short side, but I'm lazy and that's not my style. All criticism is welcome.

**-Anne.**


	4. Chivalry

**Disclaimer: All Avatar characters belong to Nickelodeon, and all fake characters and cheesy plots belong to me. :D **

**A/N: I've had roughly 120 visitors on this story. If you read, please review, even if you hated it. (Hoover that does not include you; in fact, I'm asking _you_ not to review anymore.) Oh, yeah. I suck at coming up with titles, so they don't always pertain to the actual writing..**

"Zuko, why don't you show Kira the waterfall," Aang suggested, obviously thinking it would help Zuko's hostile mood toward her.

Without a word he stood up and walked away.

Kira looked around awkwardly.

He turned his burning gaze on her. "Well? Are you coming or not?"

She ran to his side enthusiastically, and he flinched a bit, continuing in his longer stride.

She watched him, trying to be as quiet and non-irritating as possible. _He has nice features,_ she thought. _He'd look even better if he wasn't always frowning._

He shot her a look from the corner of his eye. "Stop staring at me please."

She veered her eyes immediately. What would it take to get him to stop hating her? How long would she have to endure his scorching stares, his rude remarks?

"We're here," he said roughly.

The water poured over a cliff, surrounded by trees and grass. She walked up to the edge. "It's beautiful!"

She beamed and was once again disappointed by his furrowed brow, his gaze averted.

Despite his apparent hatred for her, Kira wanted to comfort him. She took a step forward.

Zuko's eyes widened, and he ran toward her, pushing her aside.

"What--"

A cloud of steam burst up from where she had previously been standing.

He relaxed and spaced himself from her again. "I forgot to tell you about the geyser."

"Thank you," she said, still somewhat in shock.

He grunted a reply.

--

Everyone knew what her abilities were, except Zuko, who remained thick-headed and gloomy as was normal, and he left every time they began asking her questions.

She was calm. She was patient. She was everything Zuko was not, but she noticed when he shot a glare in her direction, how he stormed off every time the subject turned to her and couldn't seem to fathom his dislike for her.

Everyone else liked her; they had all accepted her warmly, but she couldn't repress the feeling that she was unwelcome to him.

Kira laughed as Momo lunged for her bread.

Zuko, sitting against a tree, stood and trudged toward Appa.  
Her face fell, and her laughter ceased. She sighed and went back to feeding Momo half-heartedly.

"Don't let him get you down," Sokka enthused. "He's always like that. I just try to tune it out."

She flashed him a look, piercing in that her discomfort at being disliked was so apparent on her usually cheerful face that no one (excepting Toph) could feel anything but sorry for the girl.

"He's jealous." Sokka munched at his apple nonchalantly.

She frowned in confusion. "Why should he be jealous?"

"Well," Katara explained carefully, "you see, Zuko wasn't accepted as quickly as you. He had to work to get everyone's approval, and you got in, no questions asked."

Zuko patted Appa on his large, furry head. "You still like me, don't you?"

The bison licked the side of his face, leaving his hair wet. He chuckled. "I thought so."

He continued to watch his friends talk, but mostly he watched Kira.

She looked so small, so fragile. He thought at any moment she might hurt herself. She might trip and break a bone or burn herself, sitting too close to the crackling fire. A tree might spontaneously decide to fall and crush her weak body.

Was it so wrong to want to protect something that was so defenseless by nature?

Yes, it was, he decided. Especially when something so defenseless was surrounded by two skilled warriors, a water bender, an earth bender, and the avatar.

These conflicting thoughts within himself were what kept him from staying around long, why he sought out solitude. He hadn't been drawn into her like the others. He wouldn't be.

She was a lovable creature, with her large eyes, small physique, and naive care for every living thing around her. To them she was like a talking Momo. No one could dislike her, even Zuko, who tried his utmost to.

But what did she want from him? She always watched him expectantly. Sometimes he caught her staring at him, concentrating on something so hard that she didn't realize he had looked up.

At first he had thought she was just looking at his scar, like most people did, but somehow he knew she wasn't. She was too polite for that kind of behavior, despite the fact that not once had he said something kind to her.

He was treating her the way Katara had treated him, and just like Zuko, she hadn't said one cruel thing back or retaliated in any form.

**A/N: Yes, I know. Very short. Again. I'm lazeh. Maybe one day I'll actually get around to writing something long! Review please! I want to know what you think.**

**-Anne.**


	5. AN: Updated

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Hey guys! Sorry I've been taking so long to update. School and such. The voices aren't talking to me anymore. I think I may find a beta at some point and lengthen all these chapters or just give it up. But thanks for your patience, nonetheless.**

**Peace, love, and noodles!**

**-Anne

* * *

**

**And now I've noticed that for some odd reason, Fanfiction has decided to rearrange my chapters again, so I've placed them in the correct order.  
**


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